Abstract
Spatial division multiplexing is emerging as a promising solution to improve the optical fiber transmission capacity. In this paper, a multicore fiber (MCF)-based optical access network architecture utilizing spectral amplitude coded optical code division multiple access (SAC-OCDMA) is proposed. We numerically analyze the impact of intercore cross talk (XT) on the bit error probability (BEP) performance of the SAC-OCDMA signals where a closed-form formula for the BEP of the proposed network is derived. We also consider the effects of multiple access interference noise, optical beat noise, and receiver noise in the analysis. Through numerical simulations, we find the penalty in the required Q-factor caused by intercore XT, compared with a single-core system with no XT, for different values of mean intercore XT.